Sowing Seeds Wellbeing CIC delivers inclusive, community-based services that prioritise prevention, early intervention and improved outcomes across health, social care and education. Our work is designed to complement statutory services, not replace them. Through responsive, relationship-led support within the community, we help reduce pressure on clinical provision while strengthening family resilience and collaboration between services.
Our aim is to also provide a “Waiting Well” service offering meaningful early intervention and supportive provision now, while families navigate pathways with the NHS, CAMHS and other statutory services. By stepping in early, we help to stabilise, regulate and empower individuals before challenges become more entrenched.
We act as a bridge connecting education settings, health professionals, families and community networks ensuring communication is joined up and support systems do not operate in isolation. Through this compassionate, coordinated approach, individuals and families receive the right support at the right time, building stronger foundations for long-term wellbeing and brighter futures.
How did Sowing Seeds start?
After 18 years working in education, our Founder and Director, Rachel Girling, began to see a pattern that weighed heavily on her heart — and after Covid, it became impossible to ignore.
Attendance concerns were rising. Anxiety levels were increasing. More secondary-aged young people were finding it difficult to access school in a way that felt safe or manageable. In her senior leadership role, Rachel was able to see the data first-hand. Increasing numbers of students, particularly from Year 7 onwards, were persistently absent or emotionally unable to engage in school life. But beyond the figures were the real stories - home visits with parents in crisis, exhausted and overwhelmed, pleading for meaningful support for their child, on a waiting list, while also carrying the weight of attendance procedures and the fear of fines.
At the same time, Rachel listened closely to young people themselves. Many were quietly and sometimes desperately asking for more support with their mental health, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Alongside this growing need, Rachel recognised another gap. While primary-aged children often had access to sensory rooms and outdoor therapeutic environments, secondary-aged young people and adults with SEND or SEM were far less likely to benefit from the same regulating, nurturing spaces. The very support that once helped them feel calm and safe often reduced as they grew older just at the stage when many needed it most.
Director Laura experienced this gap personally. When a sensory space that had once provided vital respite and regulation for her two older children relocated, there were suddenly no easily accessible sensory environments suitable for their age group. The loss of that safe space brought the reality into sharp focus.
At the same time, too many families were being left in limbo: waiting for assessments, waiting for CAMHS, waiting for therapeutic input, waiting for answers. Or had access for a limited 6 week period. During these periods of uncertainty, mental health often deteriorated, access to education became increasingly fragile, school attendance declined and long-term hopes for independence, further education or employment began to feel out of reach. Needs escalated. Confidence reduced. Families felt isolated and unheard.
We knew that waiting for support should never mean struggling alone.
It was in this space between recognising need and receiving help that our “why” became even clearer. The vision for the Thackley site - building on the support that is already delivered at our Idle site - became more than an idea; it became a shared commitment to bridge the gap.
Supporting Families in our Community
Our welcoming, flexible centre is available to hire for one-off or regular events, with four bright, spacious rooms and additional equipment to suit your needs. From a fully equipped sensory space to an open room for yoga, fitness, or creative sessions, we’ll prepare the space to work for you.
The centre is primarilly home to Sowing Seeds Wellbeing, supporting individuals with SEND, their families, and the wider community through inclusive spaces that nurture positive mental health, wellbeing, and connection.
Would you like to get involved or find out more?